My Momma didn’t always say stupid is as stupid does, but someone’s did. In any case, who ever it was that said it, the sentiment is dead on when the bromide is applied to the union thugs and liberals (I know, that’s a redundancy) at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. Unfortunately, the stupids indulging in stupidity is mucking up the life of an innocent man. Then again, if you’re going to go out of your way to prove how foolish you are, what better way than to castigate an innocent man?

Nuvo (Indy’s alternative voice), a small newser in Indianapolis, brings us the sordid tale of PCism gone wild at IUPUI with the story of a man wronged by liberal, union do-gooders.

Meet our hero: Keith John Sampson, mild mannered janitor for campus services at IUPUI during the day and student working toward a degree in communications at night. The 50-year-old man is an avid reader and had been bringing his latest tome to work so that he could read it in the break room during his lunchtime.

Reading’s good… right? Especially in a school… right?

Apparently not because all hell broke loose among the liberal fascists roaming the break rooms of IUPUI. The storm clouds began to swirl around our unpretentious janitor/student as PC lightening strikes the poor fellow with increasing ferocity. All because of the choice of reading material that Mr. Sampson dared to bring into that sacred break room.

Yes, the lefty thought patrol rose to their feet and pointed their fingers at Mr. Sampson, screeching as if they’d seen an alien. Or, perhaps, more to the point bringing the inquisition to bear on the man. Before his enlightenment, Guy Montag would have been proud.

Like an avenging angel, down came the AFSCME shop steward to gravely inform Mr. Sampson that his book was “like pornography.” A coworker is reported as having been “offended.” Then on Nov. 25th, 2007, Lillian Charleston over at the IUPUI Affirmative Action Office sent Mr. Sampson a threatening letter informing him that he is being “investigated” over his obscene actions. Another threat arrived on February 21st.

With all this action coming down on his head, this Sampson feller must be near to a criminal, it could well be assumed.

So, what was so “offensive,” what was “like pornography,” what was “racially harassing,” about the book that Mr. Sampson was so evil as to have brought into the pristine hallways of IUPUI?

Notre Dame vs. the Klan: How the Fighting Irish Defeated the Ku Klux Klan, published in 2004, features a photograph of the University of Notre Dameâ€™s famous golden dome on the cover. Its author is Todd Tucker, the publisher is Loyola Press of Loyola University in Chicago.

The book is about how for two days in May 1924, a group of Notre Dame students got into a street fight with members of the Ku Klux Klan. The Klan was meeting in South Bend for the express purpose of sticking a collective thumb in the eye of the countryâ€™s most famous Catholic university. Notre Dame vs. the Klan was a Notre Dame Magazine â€œPick of the Weekâ€ and garnered an average customer review of 4.5 stars on Amazon.com. In its review, The Indiana Magazine of History noted that Tucker â€œsucceeds in placing the event in a broad framework that includes the origins and development of both the Klan and Notre Dame.â€

You’d be excused if you were to cock your head and wonder if you had misunderstood the whole deal, here. Yes, Mr. Sampson’s book IS about how some brave students stood up against the KKK in 1924. And yes there is not a thing â€œracistâ€ about it. Yet, Mr. Sampson was attacked by the race baiters at IUPUI over this quite innocuous book, anyway.

As Nuv reports:

Then Sampson received a letter, dated Nov. 25, 2007, from Lillian Charleston, also of IUPUIâ€™s Affirmative Action Office. The letter begins by saying that the AAO has completed its investigation of a coworkerâ€™s allegation that Sampson â€œracially harassed her by repeatedly reading the book Notre Dame vs. the Klan: How the Fighting Irish Defeated the Ku Klux Klan by Todd Tucker in the presence of Black employees.â€ It goes on to say, â€œYou demonstrated disdain and insensitivity to your coworkers who repeatedly requested that you refrain from reading the book which has such an inflammatory and offensive topic in their presence â€¦ you used extremely poor judgment by insisting on openly reading the book related to a historically and racially abhorrent subject in the presence of your Black coworkers.â€ Charleston went on to say that according to â€œthe legal â€˜reasonable person standard,â€™ a majority of adults are aware of and understand how repugnant the KKK is to African-Americans â€¦â€

This is a stupid overreaction by the easily outraged fools at the IUPUI, for sure. Sampson was not only ordered to stop reading the book when â€œin the immediate presence of his coworkers,â€ but the officious authorities went on to tell him to segregate himself if he insisted on reading it.

For his part, Mr. Sampson is at a loss as to what to say about all this foolishness. â€œI feel like Iâ€™ve been caught up in a 21st century version of catch-22,â€ Sampson said.

Worse he has never had a chance to face his accusers or attempt to explain himself. And the university toughs wouldnâ€™t talk to the paper that broke the story, either.

Sampson is taking this philosophically, to his credit.

But, Sampson says, this episode could be an opportunity. He would welcome the chance to participate in a moderated forum that might use his experience for a larger discussion dealing with intellectual freedom on the IUPUI campus.

Iâ€™d warn him of the den of lions he is about to innocently blunder into, however. American Universities are not places of honest dialog and debate. Letâ€™s hope he is wearing some stiff armor should such a faux â€œmoderated forumâ€ be summoned. Far from a â€œforum,â€ Mr. Sampson could more likely expect to find a kangaroo court.

In any case, this is another perfect example of the PC, hatemongers who are cruising the halls of our Universities like ravenous sharks looking for reasons to be outraged to justify their wasted money for programs like â€œwyminâ€™s studies,â€ â€œgay studies,â€ â€œethnic studies,â€ and foolish, unnecessary appendages like the â€˜Affirmative Action Office.â€

1 user commented in " The Book Haters at Purdue University "

But I do need to set record straight in one thing – you can’t use the term Indiana University or Purdue University in the story as the place where this happened

IUPUI is a joint campus in Indianapolis and it is not the main campus of either school (both Indiana Public Universities) – not being careful about it gives the impression that this happened at the main campuses and that is not true (I note that WSJ made same mistake on its editorial page). I am not sure if this would have happened at eitehr main campus, maybe it would have – but unti it does it has to be reported accurately

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